The Visitor
"L-Luther, what do we do?"
The large, blond man let out a deep laugh. Emu was so busy reprimanding Eimme that she didn't even notice the man's laughter. After his chuckle, an air of resignation settled on his face.
"There's nothing to do. Accept your fate..." Luther said, his face reflecting acceptance. He had been married to Emu for almost 50 years, and throughout their marriage, they had always lived together. He knew better than anyone that there was no escaping Emu.
"Ha ha..." Cladia chuckled, her face showing clear signs of stress and disappointment.
The raggedly dressed, messy blond-haired giant lay sideways behind the gazebo, facing them, listening to the maid berating the elf. He found the absurdity of the situation hard to grasp, especially seeing Eimme, someone he considered a close companion after five years of adventuring together, being scolded like this. It was inconceivable both to Eimme's personality and to her level of strength. How strong could this blonde maid possibly be for even Eimme to fear her?
A black-haired maid approached the gazebo, holding a tray. She gestured simply to the benches under the gazebo for the two figures behind the elf to sit and make themselves comfortable. Her movements exuded elegance.
After a moment's hesitation, Cladia and Luther decided to abandon standing and sat down. After serving tea to the pair, Luisa stood nearby, waiting silently.
"Luisa, as always, the tea is perfect. Never let Char make tea again! Last time was a disaster," Luther began with a pleased and relaxed expression, ending his statement with a gloomy and frightened tone.
The dark-skinned maid with brown eyes nodded gently. Her short black hair rippled slightly. "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Luther. I'll do as you say. My sister... isn't exactly skilled in the kitchen."
When Emu finally finished scolding Eimme, she turned to the giant lying behind the gazebo.
"Now explain to me. Who is this man?!"
"Perhaps you remember, sister... I told you about him before. The one I traveled with during my journey to learn swordsmanship. I've mentioned him to you."
Emu nodded gently before a realization struck her. She remembered.
"Ah! I remember now. But didn't you say he was dead? You even locked yourself in your room for about 20 years and slept continuously for 10 years because of it."
The elf's face turned red, and she panicked, waving her arms meaninglessly. "No need for so much detail, sister..."
The blonde maid ignored Eimme's protests and teleported directly in front of the giant. Cladia couldn't keep up with what had just happened. Emu bowed gracefully before the giant.
"Thank you for being a companion to my little sister on her small adventures, Mr..."
"Aorion."
The woman finished her sentence with the giant's words. Then she quickly turned her back and vanished once more, this time appearing directly in front of Luther on the table. She leaned forward, staring into the large man's face.
"Will you finally explain to me where you've been for the past month? And why is Eimme an elf?!" Her anger was evident, and it was clear her frustration wasn't solely due to their month-long absence. There were other reasons, though it wasn't yet the time to bring them up.
Luther replied in a firm and fearless voice, "We were in the Wizard Forest. Just as you told us to go. Apparently... the people in that forest have a distorted sense of time. We thought we'd been there for just one day. When you told us a month had passed, we were all shocked."
Cladia took another sip of her tea, nodding in agreement. She deliberately tried to put on a sweet and innocent expression. "Yes, Lady Emulie. We were all surprised. We had no idea so much time had passed."
Clearly, Cladia's effort was successful, as Emu softened. Her face relaxed, and her demeanor calmed. "Alright then, why is Eimme an elf?"
"There's no particular reason. This time, I just felt like it."
After a moment's thought, the woman gave up. "Fine. That's enough for now. Let's get to the main issue. Were you able to lift the forest's curse?" She paused momentarily before remembering something she'd forgotten to mention. "Oh, and Eimme. You know it's quite a task and expense to manage more than fifty slaves at once. I used the money in your treasury for their expenses. As of now, you're completely broke. Not that you weren't already, but..." Her face carried an innocent and pure expression that contradicted her words. It was clear she'd just copied this sacred superior technique from Cladia moments earlier.
And as expected, it worked. While Eimme was initially angered, she composed herself. She had never been wealthy anyway. Unlike other dragons, she had no interest in gold or money and often spent all her funds on new armor or swords. She wasn't known for her saving habits. And she already owed a lot of money, particularly to Glaznac, none of which she had recently repaid. Not that she intended to. That dwarf could keep waiting.
Cladia and Luther seemed uneasy about this. While they didn't care much about excessive wealth, they were humans and understood the value of money. The indifference of these foolish Great Dragons toward vast amounts of wealth unsettled the pair.
Eimme explained everything to Emu in detail.
The blonde maid nodded understandingly. "I see... given the circumstances, it makes sense that you couldn't do anything." She sighed deeply.
"Emi, you mentioned you had something in mind before we returned," Cladia asked, genuinely curious.
"If we're getting to that topic... I wanted to make a request of my brother. You know he has an obsession with strange, powerful trinkets. He's the one who made Dia's necklace; Glaznac merely delivered it here and convinced Eogus."
"Ah, now that you mention it, I remembered the second thing I wanted to bring up. Eogus, our elder brother, came here almost every day during the month you were gone. He was looking for you, Emi."
The elf woman was surprised; she hadn't expected this. Among her siblings, he was the eldest, the family's patriarch. Why had he come here? This filled Eimme with unease.
"Did he say why he came?"
"Yes! Several times. I told you he came almost daily. All the way from Phania! I have no idea how that man has wings, but traveling all that distance in a single day is absurd! Every time he came, he nagged my ear off. And every time, I sent him back."
"Yes... Even for me, it would take at least a week to travel from here to Phania. Our brother Eogus is truly a monster."
Suddenly, a black-haired, red-eyed woman appeared beside the elf, gripping her shoulders tightly. Her expression was genuinely chilling. "Now I remember... It's time you told me about your family!" She released the silver-haired elf's arms and took a step back, her face cast downward. "A-after all, I'll have to meet them eventually."
"Alright, alright. I get it. Sister, you explain."
The blonde maid sighed deeply and replied in a tired voice, "We are five siblings. The eldest is the one we just mentioned, our brother Eogus. He's a bit obsessed with strange artifacts and jewels, and he's a bit peculiar. The second is Eivam; for some reason, he's an elf enthusiast. I don't know why, but he constantly associates with elves and has been helping them since ancient times." The maid paused momentarily before gesturing to herself gently.
"Third is me, Emulie. Fourth is Eimme. And our youngest is Ellin. Though we don't know where she is right now..."
"You don't know where she is..?"
"Yes. We're sure she's still alive, but she could be anywhere. She might not even be on the human plane."
"S-so we can obtain the artifact we need from your brother Eogus, right?"
"I believe so. He's the only one I can think of who would possess such an artifact."
As Eimme finished speaking, Cladia, Luther, and Luisa suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure above them. Struggling, they fell to their knees. Of course, the others were affected as well, but not to the same extent; they managed to protect themselves.
From afar, a hearty laugh echoed. "Haha! At last, I've found you!" The voice came from a distance.
A moment later, a silhouette appeared on the horizon. It was a dragon's silhouette, approaching at an unbelievable speed. Judging by the distance, it had to be about 50 meters in size. The colossal dragon descended beside the gazebo with great force. The floating island shook visibly. The perfectly trimmed grass was crushed, and a massive crater formed in the middle of the garden. It was as if a meteor had struck.